A Christmas to Remember
by Ande883
Summary: Nick has been feeling for Judy, and his plans for Christmas are just what he needs to hopefully get his message across to her. But does she feel the same way?


**(A/N: Hi there, it's me again. This is just a one-shot, nothing much else. It however is connected to Forty One Days, but this took place about a year prior. Anyways, I'll let you get reading. Enjoy!)**

Nick woke to the sound of his alarm clock beeping. His fist slammed down on the clock and a smile appeared on his muzzle. Today was the day. December 25th. Judy would be over for dinner and he had a lot to get done. He had lost a bet, and so it was his responsibility to make a Christmas dinner, and it had to be a good one. He had really been feeling it for Judy recently, and he wanted to show her how much he cared about her, that she was truly something special. He quickly got out of bed and hopped into the shower. He turned on the water which at first was freezing cold, but quickly turned into a relaxing, hot downpour.

He shut the water off and dried off as well as he could with a towel. He wiped the condensation off the mirror and brushed his teeth. He combed his fur so that it was neat, then he walked back into his room to change into his attire for the day. His choice: not a hawaiian shirt, but rather a white, long sleeve, turtleneck sweater, and a pair of very dark blue jeans. He finished off the look by rolling up the sleeves. He looked in his mirror and gave himself a wink. He had to admit that he looked good.

First thing on his list was cleaning up his apartment. He didn't want Judy to freak out over his messy dwellings while they were supposed to be enjoying a nice meal together. He started with the glass coffee table. He grabbed old soda cans and wrappers from fast food joints and tossed them in the trash. From the floor he picked up shirts that had probably been in the same spot for over a month. After everything was off the floor, he pulled out his brand new vacuum, which he had owned for many months only this was his first time using it, and he vacuumed the whole living room. He went into his closet and pulled out his duster, and he proceeded to dust the coffee table, the television, the few shelves and then the coffee table again. He put the duster away and moved to the kitchen.

He grabbed a stack of unread magazines from the middle of the counter and put them in his closet in his room. Whistling a song that had been stuck in his head, he wiped down the countertops and the table. Rummaging through a closet, he found two candle holders, each one containing two spots for candles. The only issue was that he had no candles to put in those spots.

"I've got to go to the store anyways." he said to himself. Grabbing a small table mat, he placed it in the center of the table, then he put the candle holders on the mat and nodded with satisfaction. The place was looking better already. He looked up at the vaulted ceiling, seeing cobwebs hanging by the chandelier and in the corners of the room. He went to the closet once more and grabbed the duster and the extender. Twisting the duster onto the long pole, he reached up to the chandelier and took away the ugly cobwebs, then went to the corners of the room and did the same. Judy had better not complain about his apartment being too messy after all the work he'd put into cleaning it up. One last place came to mind where he really needed to clean up. His room. He walked down the small hallway and opened his door, revealing the piles of unwashed clothing, lazily discarded trash, and mounds of newspapers and magazines.

"Dear Lord…" Nick thought to himself. Unmotivated to get anything done, he reluctantly started picking up the piles of clothing and loading them into his new washer. His old one had broken down and the landlord forced him to pay for the new one, since he had missed a month of rent. Several trips back and forth from the laundry room to his room later he had loaded everything in and began work on the rest of his room.

Two hours later, Nick finished cleaning up his room, and had also tidied up the bathroom. Pleased with his work, Nick thought about all of the other things he needed to do before the big dinner. He needed to get candle sticks, because he wanted to make it a special night. He needed to get food. What kind of food? He had no idea. Nick sniffed the air and cringed. He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of air freshener. He ran through the whole apartment, holding down the trigger on the bottle, releasing freshness upon his humble abode. One satisfactory sniff later he was pleased with his work. He checked his phone for the time, and it indicated 11:47. His stomach rumbled when he realised that he never ate breakfast. Eager to get the rest of his tasks finished, he grabbed a pack of toaster pastries and his coat. He would eat on the way to the store.

Out in the cold, Nick's fur blew in the wind and he squinted at each gust which was right in his face. The walk to the store was not too far from his apartment, but it was freezing outside, so Nick quickened his pace. He entered the large store, greeted be a blast of warm air. Walking up and down the aisles, Nick looked at the small piece of paper in his paws and crossed off items as he grabbed them. A sack of potatoes, packets of gravy, carrot cake mix, frosting. He figured he should at least make Judy some carrot cake, just because. Nick continued down the aisles, grabbing ingredients for his special soup. His mother had taught him how to make it and he still had the recipe. He went to the fresh produce, which looked a little less than fresh, but it would still work.

Carrots, celery, red and green bell peppers, he already had the potatoes, and he still needed the broth. He found a large carton of broth and threw it in the cart. Nick figured that was all he needed for groceries, so he went over to the 'Home Goods' section of the store, thinking that would be a good place to find candles. He sniffed the air, and he could tell he was getting close by the incredibly pungent odor of the different candles, all mixed together. He strolled down the aisle, finding four tall and skinny candle sticks, a very deep red color. He set them carefully in his cart and then a thought popped into his head.

"I haven't gotten her a gift!" he thought. Panic overtook his being and his thoughts were racing. "How could I forget a gift?!" he thought. Unsure of what to do, Nick went to the registers and paid for his items. He grabbed the bags and began his walk home. Passing by all the shops on the way, he looked into the windows trying to get an idea. Nothing came to his mind until he passed by one particular shop, seeing the perfect gift in the window. But walking into a store like this while holding bags upon bags of groceries would not look good, so he broke into a light jog, trying to get home as fast as he could.

He walked into his apartment and as quickly as possible he prepared the meal for cooking. He chopped up the different vegetables and threw them all into a bowl. He mashed up several potatoes and cut up a few others. He ripped apart a head of lettuce from the fridge and put it into a large bowl. He diced up onions and another green pepper and tossed it into the bowl, then topped it with a bit of shredded cheese and thin slices of carrots. He put the bowl of salad into the fridge and covered it with clear wrap to keep the lettuce from getting brown. He got out his slow-cooker and dumped in the entire carton of broth, then turned up the temp. He dumped in the bowl of chopped vegetables and put the lid on the slow cooker.

"Perfect timing." he thought. By the time it was ready, Judy would have probably just arrived. Now, Nick grabbed his coat again, slipped it on and ran out the door, being sure to lock it behind him.

* * *

"That will be $234.58, sir." the female deer said. Nick's eyes grew big when he heard the price of the gift.

"I sure hope she likes it…" Nick said as he swiped his credit card, cringing as he heard the little machine beep, indicating an authorized transaction. The deer handed Nick the receipt and his purchase in a little gift bag.

"I'm sure she will." she said. Nick signed the other copy of the receipt and walked out the door with Judy's gift. Nick continued his walk back to the apartment, thinking about the night that still lay ahead. The night was fast approaching and the temperature outside had dropped unusually low. The wind had picked up and clouds covered the sky. Soon enough, Nick watched the first few flakes fall with the wind, a couple of them hitting his face. Nick quickened his pace to try and get out of the cold as quickly as possible. His ears were starting to get cold and he could barely feel them. He turned the corner and soon enough he opened the door to his apartment building. He walked up the stairs, a creek emanating from each step he took. He made it to his floor and he walked down the hall a little ways to his room. He could smell the food cooking inside and it made his mouth water.

He unlocked the door and walked in, the smell getting much stronger. He set down the small gift bag on the counter and looked at it for a few moments before going into the kitchen and continuing the preparation of his Christmas dinner. He took a break from the preparation and looked at his phone, indicating it was 5:34. He looked out the window, seeing that it was already pitch black outside, except for the lights of the city, which glowed in brilliant colors. The snow had picked up exponentially and now the city was covered in a thin dusting, soon to become a good, hefty snowfall.

Nick pulled out a ladle from a drawer and removed the top from the slow-cooker. He dipped the ladle in, removing some of the broth and raised it to his lips, taking a taste of the steamy, dark liquid. He nodded in satisfaction and let the soup sit so that it would stay warm. Nick opened the door to his pantry and pulled out a great big loaf of bread. He removed the long loaf from it's plastic wrapping and grabbed a bread knife, cutting thick slices from the loaf. He removed the ends from the loaf and pulled a piece off of one of them, popping it into his mouth. As he chewed, he continued cutting even slices from the loaf until it was all cut up. He got a pan out from underneath the counter and set it on top of the stove, turning on one of the electric burners. He let the pan heat up while he lightly buttered each side of the bread, then set a few on the pan at a time, letting the sides brown.

Soon enough he had a plate piled with bread, a large bowl of mashed potatoes, a big bowl of salad, and his special soup, perfect for a simple Christmas dinner. Nick grabbed the candles and put them in the holders in the middle of the table. He took out a lighter and lit all four of them. He grabbed the gift bag from the counter and put it in his room. Soon enough, he was sure that he'd get a text or a call from Judy, saying that she'd be at his place in a few minutes.

He sat on the couch in his living room for about 15 minutes before he grew impatient. Where could she be? She was never late for anything. Nick grabbed his phone and dialed her number, then held his phone up to his ear, waiting for her to pick up. Right before it stopped ringing, a little voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Nick. What are you doing?" Judy said.

"I'm waiting for you, of course. I was still under the impression that you were coming over at 7 o'clock." Nick replied. There was silence on the other end. "Carrots?" Nick said.

"Oh my gosh. I completely forgot! I'll be there in just a bit." Judy said. Then she ended the call, leaving Nick staring at his phone.

Awhile later, a knock came from Nick's door. He got up from the couch, turning off the television before he walked over to the door, unlocked it and opened it up. Judy was standing in front of him, holding a small box wrapped neatly in red and green paper.

"Sorry I'm late. I got caught up in a few things and lost track of time." she said. Nick smiled at her with his typical smirk.

"Yeah, sure you did." Nick teased. Judy gave him a fist to the arm and he let out a little yelp, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

"Now's not the time to be teasing, Slick." she said.

"You're right. Now's the time to be enjoying my wonderful meal that I spent most of the day cooking." he remarked. Judy walked inside the apartment, taking the time to shake off any snow that had accumulated on her coat before walking in. She set her gift on the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. Nick was standing by the table with a chair that he had pulled out. Judy walked over to Nick and he gestured for her to sit. She took her seat and he pushed the chair in so that she could reach her utensils. Nick grabbed a pitcher of water and filled her glass to the brim, then went over to his seat on the other end of the table and filled his own glass.

"May I interest you in some carrot juice, ma'am?" Nick said with a ridiculous accent.

"Why certainly." Judy replied, trying to mimic the accent. Nick opened the fridge and pulled out a large bottle filled with carrot juice. He grabbed another glass from his cupboards and set it next to her water. He promptly filled the glass and then replaced the juice in the fridge. He then grabbed her plate and bowl and walked over to the food. He filled the bowl with his soup, he put a small scoop of potatoes on the plate and set a slice of bread right next to them. He set the plate and bowl in front of Judy, then he grabbed the smaller plate and brought it over to the counter. He opened the fridge once more and took out the bowl of salad, and he piled it onto the plate. He brought it back to Judy and set it to the side of her main course. Nick then quickly filled his plate with food and went back to his seat.

They ate the meal in relative silence, only chatting about a few things during the course of the evening. When Judy had finished her food, she leaned back in her seat, satisfied by Nick's exceptional cooking abilities.

"That was fantastic, Nick. I didn't know you could cook like that." she said.

"Well, you can thank mom for that. She taught me everything she knew about cooking when I was younger. The soup is actually her very own recipe."

"Well, the next time you see her, tell her that it was delicious." Judy said. Nick nodded, but he knew that there probably wouldn't be a next time to see his mother. He hadn't spoken to her in years, but he really didn't want to get into his past with his mother with Judy, at least not tonight. Judy spoke up once more.

"So what's for dessert?" she asked. Nick's eyes grew wide and a frown appeared on his muzzle. He had completely forgotten about dessert. He left the carrot cake mix sitting in the pantry and he never got around to making it. He had to think of something quick.

"Carrot's, tonight, all we will have for dessert is each other's company, because just being with you is sweet." He said. Thoughts raced through his head as he saw her blush. _Nailed it (internal fist-pump)._ Judy giggled and stared into Nick's emerald eyes.

"You flatter me too much, Nick. You really know how to treat someone you really care for." she said. That had taken Nick by surprise. Did she know how he felt about her? He was usually pretty good about hiding his emotions, but had he let it slip this one night. For the second time in his life, he was left speechless by this bunny.

"Well, Carrots, I aim to impress everyone. That's just how I roll." Nick said, hoping that would convince her. She still looked at him like he was hiding something. Had he lost his touch? That couldn't be the case. If Nick couldn't hustle like he used to, then was he really Nick Wilde? Not to him. Even though his life had been drastically turned around, Nick still liked to get his hustle on every once in awhile, even though he didn't do it to get money. He just liked to do it for the fun of it, and sometimes it came in handy at work. To Nick's surprise, Judy changed the subject.

"Aren't you even a little curious what I got you, because I know that you'd like it." she said. Now that he thought about it, he had been wondering what she had gotten him. Judy still didn't know that Nick had even gotten her anything, so he was eager to get on with the exchange of gifts.

"I am, one hundred percent." Nick said. Nick got out of his seat and he assisted Judy out of hers. They walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Judy handed the box to Nick. He tore at the paper on the top of the box and opened it up. Inside were hundreds of little blue spheres. Blueberries. His eyes lit up at his favorite treat and he popped a few in his mouth.

"Mmm, so good. And I'd assume they're from…"

"My family's farm of course!" she interrupted. Nick set the box down on the coffee table and Nick stood up.

"Let me go get your gift, Carrots." he said. He walked into his room and grabbed the small bag from his dresser. He walked back out into the living room and sat down next to Judy, who was patiently waiting for him to hand her the gift. He gave her the bag and she pulled out the little black velvet box. Judy looked up at him with large eyes. She opened the box and revealed a necklace. The silver chain held onto a single, large amethyst, the same color of her eyes. Judy looked back up at Nick with wonder and surprise.

"Oh, Nick. It's beautiful. You didn't have to…" she said, but Nick interrupted her.

"No, Carrots. I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Because of you." he said. Judy's eyes began to accumulate some tears. "Judy, there is something that I have wanted to tell you for awhile now, but I've never felt the moment was right until now. I don't know if you feel the same way, but I just want you to know… that I love you." Nick said. Tears were now flowing out of her eyes. She set the necklace down on the coffee table and looked at him.

"Finally, you dumb fox." she said. She hopped on him and kissed Nick with intense passion. Her arms went around his neck and she held onto him dearly. They broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes, both of them burning with and intense love for each other. No longer was Nick holding back any of his feelings, and Judy did the same. There was a certain fire in her eyes that he had never seen before now, one that told him that she would be with him until the end, that she was meant to be with him for life.

"Merry Christmas, Nick." she said.

"Merry Christmas, Judy." he replied. Judy sat in his lap, resting her head on his chest. His heart was beating quickly and she felt him shaking a little bit, which raised a question in her mind.

"Nick, were you nervous to tell me how you felt?" she asked.

"Carrots, if you can't tell, I cannot sit still right now. I'm shaking like there's no tomorrow." he replied. Judy giggled and layed back onto his rising and falling chest. She felt his heart rate slowly decrease to a normal rate and they sat in the embrace of one another for a while, soaking in all the emotion that had been released in such a short amount of time. After a while, Judy said something that made Nick's heart skip a beat.

"You know, there's a lot of snow falling right now. I don't know if I'll be able to make it home. I might just have to stay here tonight." she said. Nick looked down and her and smiled. That was the only thing he needed to hear for the rest of the night. This was definitely going down as the best Christmas ever. Truly, a Christmas to remember.

* * *

 **(A/N: Wonderful, isn't it? The power of love. I'll leave what happens next to you guys (If I were to continue with it, I would have them play video games the rest of the night and have Judy beat Nick at everything. Some would have it another way which I don't agree with, and yes I am looking at the perverts.) Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this.**

 **A quick announcement before you continue on with your lives, I am going out of town for a while, so I will have a limited time to write before classes start again.**

 **That is all for now. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and let's all make good decisions this holiday season that way we can all make it home to see family! God bless each and every one of you! -Ande883)**


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